Awesome Alaska Adventure

Island Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 44

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5
Island Princess

7 Night Voyage Of The Glaciers Southbound (Anchorage To Vancouver)

Sail date: September 12, 2018

Ship: Island Princess

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: D519

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Our Alaskan Adventure began with a 7 day land tour that included an overnight in Anchorage at the Captain Cook Hotel. From Anchorage we boarded a motor coach which took us on the Glen Allen HIghway to the Princess Copper River Lodge where we stayed for two nights. The lodge staff was very friendly and we enjoyed the stay. The excursions we had booked were cancelled due to issues on the part of the vendor so we enjoyed the Wrangells-St Elias National Park and the area surrounding the lodge. From there we got back on board the motor coach and headed for Fairbanks. We spent two nights at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. This lodge is more like a hotel than Copper River. We did the Riverboat Ride and Gold Dredge Tour. Both were good and informative. This was our second time in Fairbanks. Here we did see the Northern Lights from our room. From Fairbanks we headed back on our motor coach to Denali Princess Lodge. We had been here on our first trip and had done the bus ride into the park so we opted to walk around the lodge grounds and the shopping area across the highway. The pizza spot on the lodge grounds is good. From Denali we took the Alaska Railroad to Talkeetna where we enjoyed the Jet Boat tour and a short walk around town while we waited for the motor coach to take us to the McKinley Princess Lodge. The entire week we had lovely, clear skies and the mountains showed themselves the entire time. From McKinley we again boarded a motor coach for Whittier where we quickly embarked on to the Island Princess for our seven-day southbound cruise. We saw the Hubbard Glacier which we had not seen on our prior cruise which was a north bound. It was beautiful and amazing as everything in Alaska is. Our second day on board was spent in Glacier Bay where we got to see the John Hopkins Glacier which is not always possible. The naturalist on board are very informative and the days just glide by. Our third day was spent in Skagway where we took the narrow guage railroad into the Yukon. We were under the assumption we would be going all the way to Whitehorse but we got off the train in Fraser and onto another motor coach that took us to Carcross for lunch & shopping. It was not nearly what we had expected based on others comments. We have taken the Durango-Silverton train several times and this was not nearly as spectacular nor authenticly restored. These engines were diesel and the Durango train still uses the steam engines. However, we were enchanted again when we went to the Skagway Brewery for a beer and a snack before boarding the ship to leave for Juneau. In Juneau we did a whale watching trip on a research vessel which was extremely exciting. We saw 4 or 5 different humpback whales and worked with the staff to identify which whales they were based on their flukes. The trip was enjoyable because it was a limited sized group and no children under 12 were allowed. After a successful whale watching adventure, we boarded the ship and went on to Ketchikan the next day. In Ketchikan we went to the RainForest Sanctuary to hunt for bears. It was successful as well. We saw four or five different bears, pink salmon running, some eagles and also a carver of totems. We did a bit of shopping and boarded for our final sea day on the Island Princess. All in all, we had a great time and will probably go back to Alaska for a third adventure.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
It seemed to take a lot longer than other cruises to get food in the MDR. I don't blame our waiter and asst waiter for the delay. I just think they have the staff spread a bit thin. The same with our cabin steward. We barely saw him. On previous cruises, we saw our steward every day. I think perhaps they are cutting back and it is noticeable.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
The extra cabins on the Promenade Deck disrupt the ability to walk the full girth of the ship. Common areas were well maintained. They were polishing the brass daily.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Promenade Deck 7 is not open all around the ship

Ports of call

Whittier (Anchorage), Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

Black Bear with Salmon Humpback Whale Spout Stellar Sea Lions Sunset on the Ship Denali
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3 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

TheHenneSeas    6 years ago

Would you share a little more about the Northern lights? I really am interested. I am afraid I'll be disappointed. Are they really spectacular?

DebandMarkC    6 years ago

What a marvelous review thank you

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